Research on the history of ownership, or provenance, of works of art has always
been an important part of a curator's work. Museum curators conduct this research to
shed light on the historical, social, and economic context in which a work of art was
created and collected, as well as on the history of taste. Art historians have always sought to know the identity of previous owners, but
such information is often difficult to establish. When a painting has been owned by a family for
several generations there may be no record of sale. Frequently, private collectors prefer to buy and
sell works anonymously through dealers or auction houses, whose records may therefore not disclose the
true owner. Moreover, many dealers and auction houses that were active in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries are no longer in business and their records may have been lost or destroyed.
Thus it is rare to find works of art having a complete history of ownership. It is, therefore, important to
bear in mind that gaps in provenance do not necessarily indicate that a work was looted or stolenReconstruction of a complete history of ownership for a given work can be
difficult and sometimes impossible. Many records of ownership have been destroyed as a result of natural
disasters, man-made disasters such as war, and neglect. Information is sometimes withheld by dealers
and auction houses at the request of previous owners who wish to maintain their anonymity. Much
archival information remains undiscovered or difficult of access.

WARNING: USE OF OUR LETTERHEAD FOR
FAKE AUTHENTICATIONS AND APPRAISALS samples - all use of our name or letterhead
will be prosecuted and reported immediately to the FBI. G. Van Weyenbergh
October 12 - 2007 .No one by the name of Johann Von or Van Weyenbergh , neither
a website Von Weyenbergh Fine Arts as been associated to Van Weyenbergh Fine
Arts in the present or the past. We reported to the FBI the use of our
letterhead with these names since 2007. ( See WARNING above). Any letterhead
with Von Weyenbergh Fine Arts, or signed by an individual named Johann Van or
Von Weyenbergh should be reported to the FBI or contact us immediately. All our
letters have a specific seal with our name. Any letter without this seal is a
forgery